Six years ago, VW was exposed for manipulating exhaust gases on diesel vehicles. Now the criminal proceedings against four VW managers have started in Braunschweig.
The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig accuses the VW managers of commercial and gang fraud. For years, VW had installed software in diesel cars that was able to recognize test bench runs and accordingly only reduced exhaust emissions here. On the road, the cars then emitted 35 times the amount of nitrogen dioxide. The buyers of these cars were clearly deceived here, according to the prosecutor.
Winterkorn procedure separated
A total of around nine million cars are said to have been sold with this manipulation software in Europe and the USA. The public prosecutor's office put the damage at several 100 million euros. Four employees, some of whom were former, from the management level of the car manufacturer's development team are in the dock. The trial against ex-VW boss Martin Winterkorn was separated because Winterkorn is currently not able to stand trial after hip surgery. However, the public prosecutor's office has lodged an appeal against the court's decision, which the Braunschweig Higher Regional Court has yet to decide. It is currently unclear when the trial against Winterkorn will start. The public prosecutor's office in Braunschweig has also accused other people whose main hearing has not yet been decided.
Observers expect that the proceedings in the VW diesel scandal could drag on into 2023. The accused face several years in prison.
In a model declaratory action in April 2020, VW had already agreed to pay compensation of around 620 million euros to around 200,000 car owners. In the US, the Dieselgate Affair costs the automaker $15 billion in fines. The VW Group itself has reached an agreement with former top managers of the company on claims for damages in the context of the diesel scandal in the amount of around 290 million euros. ,
Conclusion
Six years after the diesel scandal broke, the trial against the responsible VW managers will start in September 2021.
